Minter Puts Together Career-Best Run in Waco

jdearing

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WACO, TX (September 14) – Missing her high school homecoming festivities didn’t seem to bother Kathryne Minter when she raced in Friday’s American Sprint Car Series Sooner Region event at Heart O’ Texas Speedway. In fact, she was faster than ever.

The 2007 ASCS Gulf South Rookie of the Year drove her #13m Concrete Crushing Company J&J to a career-best seventh-place finish in ASCS competition to move into 14th place in the Sooner Region point standings.

Minter, who has only been racing for three years, was running fifth in the main event before ASCS veterans Jason Johnson and Brian McClelland passed her with five laps remaining.

“That was when the track started drying out,” Kathryne said. “Earlier in the race, we were running eighth and there was a big wreck. I missed everything in front of me, but Brian plowed into me from behind. It messed up my Jacobs ladder and my brand new wing, so the car didn’t handle as well after that. We ran pretty well after the next restart, but Jason got around me and I went across a slick spot and slid up the track coming out of two and Brian barely got underneath me. I almost passed him back going into three, but I couldn’t get a good enough run on him. It was a really good night.

“We ran the three-wide before the race, and it was really cool because I’m usually at the back when they do that. I was in the front this time though, and it was a great view.

“After the feature when they told me to go to the scales, I said, ‘I’ve been waiting to hear those words.’”

Minter drew a low number, which allowed her to start on the front row in the Second Heat Race and responded with a third-place finish.

“I broke my horrible streak of drawing bad numbers when I drew a four,” Kathryne said.

“Travis Rilat and Jason Johnson started behind me in the heat race, so I was trying to keep the pole-sitter from jumping the start because I knew if he kept jumping the start they would put them ahead of us. When I start a heat race on the inside, I don’t want to have to turn my car halfway through the corner so I want until we’re coming out of four so I can get the car straight before I go. He jumped the start really bad the first time, so I didn’t go. When he jumped the start the second time, I knew I had to go or they would put us on the second row.”

Minter signed autographs for two hours at a Hooters restaurant in Monroe, LA, before Saturday night’s ASCS Gulf South race at Fast Trax Speedway in Chatham, LA.

“We hope to have a good turnout at Saturday’s race,” Kathryne said. “We’ve tried to race there three times before and they’ve all been rained out, so I’ve never raced there before. I hear it’s a lot like Cowtown (Speedway). They say it either stays tacky or it takes rubber when it dries out. I learned how to drive on rubber-down tracks in Dodge City, so that could come in handy.”
 




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